Showing titles in Rugby

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Test, the stunning autobiography from rugby legend Brian O'Driscoll, read by Aidan Kelly. Between 1999, when he made his international debut, and his retirement in 2014, there was no greater player in world rugby than Brian O'Driscoll. In 2010 Rugby World magazine named him its world player of the decade - and since then the legend has only grown.

Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award, this is a scorching and deeply personal autobiography that lifts the lid on the life and character of one of English rugby's most successful players. Brian Moore, or 'Pitbull' as he came to be known during nearly a decade at the heart of the England rugby team's pack, established himself as one of the game's original hard men at a time when rugby was still an amateur sport.

Rugby league legend Rob Burrow’s memoir will be one of the most inspirational books you’ll ever listen to. It will move you to tears and make you laugh. It will make you angry at the unfairness and cruelty of life. It will make you marvel at the fortitude and limits of the human spirit. And, like all the best books, perhaps it will make you reassess your own approach to living.

Alun Wyn Jones is the most capped rugby player of all time. Seen by many as one of the greatest ever Welsh players, he has won three Grand Slams for Wales and was named the best player of the 2019 Six Nations Championship. Brilliant, honest and combative, his autobiography, written with Tom Fordyce, is the story of one of the most compelling and singular figures in rugby. Told with unflinching honesty, this is the ultimate book for all fans of the sport.

My Name'5 Doddie is a humbling, courageous and very funny celebration of a remarkable man. The extraordinary, life-affirming autobiography of Doddie Weir is an absolute must-listen – rugby fan or not. Rugby legend and MND campaigner Doddie Weir has always lived life to the full. On the pitch, Doddie's irresistible talent took him to the heart of every team he graced and brought him 61 caps for Scotland. He won fans all over the world with his sportsmanship, humour and boundless energy. Then, in June 2017, Doddie made the announcement that he had been diagnosed with MND.

It's rare for a referee in any sport to be popular, yet Nigel Owens has always courted strong affection throughout the world - loved by the players, coaches, officials, TV commentators and even fans. A real character, some of his famous put-downs whilst lecturing players, such as 'This is Not Soccer', have become huge social media hits. The best rugby referee of his generation, Nigel also has an incredible back story to tell.

There aren't many people who can say they've been the thirty-first man on the pitch during a World Cup humdinger, Grand Slam decider or Premiership and European Cup final; listened to the sobs of a 20-stone prop as he tries to belt out his national anthem; heard the crunch of bones after some of the mightiest hits known to the game; or been yards away from the greatest players of the last twenty years, doing almost impossible things with a rugby ball - especially when you're a working-class lad from the Forest of Dean, wondering how you ever got there in the first place.

Rugby hurts. It demands mental resilience and resistance to pain. It explores character, beyond a capacity to endure punishment. In The Hurt, Dylan Hartley, one of England's most successful captains, tells a story of hard men and harsh truths. This is rugby in the raw, a unique insight into the price of sporting obsession. At the age of 16, Hartley travelled to England, on his own, to build a life and learn the dark arts of front-row play. He won 97 international caps before his retirement, due to a persistent knee condition, in November 2019.

Gareth Thomas had it all. He was a national hero, a sporting icon. He was a leader of men, captain of Wales and the British Lions. To him, rugby was an expression of cultural identity, a sacred code. It was no mere ball game. It gave him everything, except the freedom to be himself. This is the story of a man with a secret that was slowly killing him. Something that might devastate not only his own life but the lives of his wife, family, friends and teammates.

Wrecking Ball is a captivating and humorous memoir by Billy Vunipola, one of the stars of England's recent rugby renaissance, and will be enjoyed by those who have read the recent autobiographies by Jonny Wilkinson, Brian O'Driscoll, Dan Carter and Paul O'Connell. Standing at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing almost 20 stone, Billy is a rampaging and unmissable presence on the rugby pitch, for both club and country.

How to Win: Talent Alone Is Not Enough is much more than the story of a tournament. It is the distillation of a philosophy of leadership developed during a lifetime in high-performance environments, from the rugby field to the boardroom. Tapping in to his experience of winning the 2003 World Cup, being a part of the leadership team that delivered Olympic Success in 2012 and lessons drawn from Japan 2019, the author delivers a go-to manual in how to improve both individual and team performance in order to reach the pinnacle in sport and in business.

Keith Earls started out in senior rugby as a teenage star and during the course of his long career has become one of the most admired and respected players of his generation. A British & Irish Lion at the age of 21, he is now closing in on his 34th birthday and still playing at the top of his game. A native of Limerick city, Earls grew up in one of its most socially disadvantaged housing estates. His natural sporting talent brought him into the privileged bastion of elite rugby union.

Jamie Roberts is your quintessential hard man: a six-foot-four, 17-stone slab of rippling muscle, conditioned to run hard into other huge men in an arena where physical dominance is the prime currency. Yet away from rugby, he's a mild-mannered and thoughtful man - a qualified doctor with a thirst for knowledge and a curiosity about the world around him. It's an intriguing contradiction.

In the autumn of 2010, a little-known New Zealander called Joe Schmidt took over as head coach at Leinster. He had never been in charge of a professional team. After Leinster lost three of their first four games, a prominent Irish rugby pundit speculated that Schmidt had 'lost the dressing room'. Nine years on, Joe Schmidt has stepped down as Ireland coach having achieved success on a scale never before seen in Irish rugby.

There have been many comments made and books written about Siya Kolisi, captain of the Springboks, and the first Black man to lead his country in more than 128 years of South African rugby. But now, for the very first time, Siya Kolisi shares his story in an extraordinarily intimate memoir, charting his journey from being born into the impoverished Zwide township, to leading his proud nation to an astonishing victory at the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

In this powerful, open and honest memoir, Sonny Bill shares the triumphs and missteps of his extraordinary sporting life and reveals how faith and family have made him the man he is today. Sonny Bill Williams is a once in a generation athlete - a player with immense sporting talent in rugby league, rugby union and boxing. In his remarkable career, he has won World Cups with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015 and helped the Kiwis reach the 2013 final of the rugby league equivalent.

Traditionally, the renowned All Blacks and those charged with guiding them have kept their rules of engagement close to their chests. However now, New Zealand Rugby has agreed to open their doors to rugby writer Peter Bills to consider the reasons behind their dominance of the world game in the build-up towards the Lions Series in 2017 and Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. Through this audiobook, Peter Bills draws on case studies and interviews of officials, coaches and players as well as people involved in all elements of rugby right across New Zealand.

Rassie Erasmus has been called a genius. He’s been called reckless. All his life, he’s done things differently. Now, with his trademark candour, Rassie talks openly about his adventures and misadventures at the pinnacle of world rugby, both as player and coach. From his role in Nick Mallett's record-breaking Springbok team of the late 1990s, to the devastating injuries that cut short his playing career, to his revolutionary coaching career, Rassie is an essential window into one of the most successful figures of modern rugby.

Two Woods, Four Quarters: A Harlequins Podcast. Hosted by fans and cousins; Will Wood & Michael Wood.

Wayne Bennett is the greatest rugby league coach Australia has ever had. He has won seven premierships and is the greatest man manager the game has known. He is also a living contradiction: Other coaches decry his tactics then attempt to imitate them. Players are desperate to work with him but are left feeling deceived when he cuts them loose. The media disparages him then lavishes him with praise. So who is the real Wayne Bennett? So who is the real Wayne Bennett? Celebrated sports journalist Andrew Webster has been on a mission to find out.